The Bamboo
The Bamboo is a ship in Soliairs Taeyang's fleet, operated by the Crane God's Cult and owned by Benjamen Stridde. Originally, The Bamboo was a smaller sized cruise ship, captured by the cult and converted into an armored offensive vessel.
Like Temple of the Crane, The Bamboo also has a 'cutesy' nickname given by her crew, Bambi.
Purpose / Function
The Bamboo is a hybrid purpose ship within Soliairs' fleet. As the personal ship of her captain, Benjamen Stridde, it is also the living space for him, Soliairs' children, and their families when not in use for raids or combat operations. Due to having previously been a cruise ship, The Bamboo's living quarters are much more luxurious and larger than that of most ships within the fleet, and highly desired as a place of rest among all of the fleet's crew. Members of Soliairs' crews that have been injured are typically stationed on The Bamboo to recover.
Primarily, The Bamboo operates as a hybrid bait and speed ship during combat operations. Her smaller size allows the ship to be much less likely to be seen on approach, as well as approach targets and enemies much quicker than other vessels under Soliairs' operation. A dark coloration also makes the Bamboo the primary vessel for nighttime operations, as ships without functioning radar or sonar are extremely unlikely to detect her, especially during low visibility conditions.
As a bait ship, The Bamboo is put under illusions to appear as an ordinary cruise ship in distress, drawing in would be rescuers and well meaning civilians to be attacked and captured. Oftentimes these illusions are of the ship taking on water, undergoing active fires, or electrical problems to disguise the sounds of her crew preparing for attack. This is often paired with distress calls and mayday signals by Benjamen himself under the guise of distressed passengers unable to rescue themselves. Utilizing voice changers, Benjamen is also known to pose as children aboard the ship, furthering would be rescuers attempts to act as quickly as possible and ignore red flags given by him or his crew about the situation the ship is in. When operated as a bait ship, The Bamboo will only drop its illusions when other members of the fleet have fully surrounded their mark to prevent escape.
Design
Top speed: (Full load) 58 knots
Top speed: (Light load) 69.2 knots
Alterations
Under the care of Benjamen Stridde, the ship saw extensive alterations from its original design. Interiors of the ship were almost entirely gutted for scrap and repair materials to be used on fixing not only damaged the ship had when it was captured, but for making repairs to the rest of Soliairs' fleet. It is very likely that many of The Bamboo's fixtures and appliances were removed to be kept on Powderkeg Crane Island as backups should she require replacements in the future.
Exceptions to the full gutting of the ship were made in two key areas, as directed by Benjamen himself: The ship's gambling hall, and its lounge. Rather, these sections of the ship were instead fully repaired to their former glory, likely using salvage from other cruise ships, and made into opulent centers of relaxation for the ship's crew. Living quarters at the ship's center were also similarly outfitted, provided they did not have hull or deck access, in case of damage during raids.
The entire lower hull of the Bamboo had to be replaced following its salvage, due to extensive damaged caused by its mooring as well as continuously being knocked against the shoals post abandonment. It is believed that her current hull is comprised of parts from numerous naval ships, most likely those of ROC interceptors and battalion ships due to The Bamboo's size. Due to images released during her renovation by Benjamen Stridde, likely as a taunt to the ROC Coast guard, it is almost certain that The Bamboo has a triple layer hull, which was visible under construction in his social media posts, despite claims the photos were of the ship being dismantled for scrap rather than being refit. During this time, a shipwrecked interceptor belonging to the Japanese Navy had its hull salvaged with permission from Ryoma, God of Tuna by the cult and was used to reinforce The Bamboo's bow following historical analysis of the wreck and the rest of the ship's relocation as an artificial reef.
The Bamboo's exact engine specifications are unknown, but it is widely thought that multiple engines were salvaged from other ships, including those of much larger and more powerful vessels, necessitating the nearly full gutting of her interiors and storage. It is likely that The Bamboo operates on hybrid fuel-mana engines in order to reach her extremely fast speeds, despite the ship's moderate size.
Other modifications to the ship are considered to be standard of the cult's refit operations- Windows, portholes, and viewing platforms were either replaced or covered with steel bars and mesh to prevent debris flyback and allow for windows to be opened and used as shooting platforms. Many of the decks, viewing areas, and balconies of The Bamboo have been fitted with semi and automatic weapons as well as gun stands and shielding that can be removed and replaced at will within minutes for mobile and strategic movement of her crew. What is not, however, standard is The Bamboo's paint. Most ships within the fleet are typically painted in reds, oranges, or whites, but The Bamboo, as the personal ship of Benjamen, was given a repaint in black and green, fitting with its new name. The Bamboo was also given a personal flag commissioned by Ben himself and created by Sasakia, God of Butterflies, depicting his rabbit, Panda.
History
Cruise Liner
The Bamboo was originally a ship called Pacifica VI, operated by Northwest Pacific Cruises. Under its parent company, the Pacifica VI operated as a cruise vessel up and down the Republic of California coast, from Washington to northern Mexico when on international cruises. These cruises were targeted at middle to upper middle class families seeking vacations, 'Pleasure and relaxation none too far from home', as was the ship's tagline. Pacifica VI oftentimes did these cruises in tandem with its sister ships, Pacifica VII, Pacifica VIII, and Grand Pacifica, a ship in a higher class. These liners would oftentimes depart port in a staggered schedule that crossed paths with one another, so that passengers if they so desired could enjoy a stay in a coastal city, and then hop on the next ship to depart for home once again at any point in their cruise, as all Pacifica cruise tickets were valid for any ship in the line. This schedule, however, did cause numerous issues. As the ships often veered away from standard operation lanes for better sightseeing opportunities, Northwest Pacific Cruises faced numerous suits for delays, obstructing shipping traffic, and accidents on board due to their ships drifting too close to reefs and shoals. Numerous accusations were put against the company for unsafe operating procedures when Pacifica VI became ran aground outside of La Bufadora, All Saints Bay, in rough weather when it diverted course to allow tourists a close look a sea lions. This put the Pacifica VI dangerously close to Grand Pacifica due to heavy fog, and the ship narrowly avoided collision by running itself aground. There, Pacifica VI remained for 17 days, being evacuated by its crew and passengers loaded onto Pacifica VIII.Under Benjamen Stridde
News of the ship's abandonment made international news, especially due to numerous injuries on board. It is widely thought that Soliairs' crew, and her soon to be new owner, Benjamen Stridde, likely heard of the ship through news coverage and sought to capitialize on the opportunity. Although Pacifica VI was guarded by ROC Coast guard pending investigations into the accident, rumors around the organization stated that the ROC branch frequently abandoned their posts, drank on the job, and would frequently raid passengers' own belongings left behind. Soliairs' fleet took control of the waters surrounding the abandoned Pacifica VI at night, and in similar weather conditions to the crash. By approaching with fog and emergency lights off, they were unseen until dangerously close to the ship- as said by ROC coast guard: "...They jumped from one deck to another...", suggesting that the crew may have been close enough to not need boarding equipment at all. A hostile takeover of the Pacifica VI ensued, with Soliairs' forces dominating ROC coast guard, abandoning them on Islas de Todos Santos with emergency beacons and rations salvaged from the ship. It took 84 days for Soliairs' crew to finish their own salvage operations, refloating the Pacifica VI and patching damage so it could be towed away by the fleet. It is likely that the Pacifica VI was brought to Powderkeg Crane Island to be fully salvaged and repaired, and the ship was unseen for 3 years, until its emergence as The Bamboo.
Alternative Names
Bambi
Type
Vehicle, Ship
Owner
Additional Rulers/Owners
Owning Organization
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